Zee Tree

August 31, 2014

I will never EVER ever forget Zee Tree. There is a laundry lists of first that happened that day, but mainly, most notably, it was my first multi-pitch climb.
Zee Tree is a relatively easy slab climb in Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite, CA. I was climbing the route with my soon to be boyfriend, Billy, and his two climbing friends Rovi and Sheila. Of the four I was the most inexperience, follow by Sheila. Sheila has been climbing much longer than I have but is afraid of heights. That’s not a joke. No, really, it’s not.

I think right from the get go Sheila and I were a little weary about this “easy” climb. And when all was said and done we had a right to be. After 12 hours of climbing, summiting, repelling, being completely terrified, falling into cracks (me and cracks don’t get along, another story), falling from a repel and swinging upside down (I will let Sheila elaborate on that one), a few tears, freezing our asses off, having the Park Rangers megaphone up if we were okay, and finally making it back to our respective vehicles at 1:30am; Sheila and I officially decided that this was an epic adventure.

Zee Tree wasn’t the start of all my epic adventures; I’ve had many face palm moments well before this one. But this one was special and stands out to me for various reasons… it was my first multi-pitch, Billy asked me to be his girlfriend on the second to last pitch as he was huddling with me to keep me warm, I conquered something I never thought I would even try, and I gained a new addiction.

Zee Tree wasn’t just a climb, it was an beacon of light in my personal journey.

Sheila and Erica… how little did they know a 6 hour tour would turn into a 12 hour epic.Having some fun. Putting on a good face when we were scared.Our guides making it look easy.Looking down.No more bolts… all trad now.Sun coming down of Tuolumne Meadows. View from the summit.Retracing our routeWe survived!